Thinking of walking The Way/ El camino

If you intend it as a true pilgrimage, in order for it to "count", you must walk the last 100 km. Of course, it's up to you whether or not you walk other parts.

We considered biking it a few years and did a lot of research and purchased some good printed materials. I would be glad to forward the titles if you like.

What is a "true pilgrimage?". If we are not religious and just want to walk a section for ten days or so, for the cultural experience and the scenery, what is the best section? And are we banned from doing that if it is not a true pilgrimage?

Anyone can do for any reason for any distance. There are some official rules if you want the trip to be recognized as a pilgrimage.

As Frank says, anyone can walk any part of it for any reason (or bus any part of it, or bike any part of it). For it to be recognized as a religious pilgrimage, however, the last 100 km must be completed on foot. There are also rules regarding obtaining the appropriate stamps in a "pilgrim's passport" along the way for those wishing to be recognized for completing the religious pilgrimage.

You do have to have the "passport and stamps" because that gives you access to some of the facilities along the way. Bicycling is accepted because bicycle storage was provided. I do have maps and elevation profile for the entire length. It does go up and down hill a lot. We may still do it but not sure when. We were planning on two months.

In order to receive a "Compostela", you must have walked 100km. The Compostela is a certificate issued at the cathedrail in Santiago (which is shown in the movie). It recognizes the individual as a pilgrim. A popular starting point for those who do not have much time is Sarria, because you can complete the 100km by starting there. You must present you pilgrim passport, in order to prove you have walked 100km and you will be issued your Compostela when you reach Santiago. I believe you can pick up a pilgrim's passport at the church, when you begin your walk. Here's a forum specifically dedicated to the Camino Frances - http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/el-camino-frances/ I've wanted to walk the Camino for many years, but have never been able to take the amount time necessary. I'm hoping to do it in 2013. Good luck!

I walked the Camino last year, starting in St Jean Pied du Port and arrived in Santiago 33 days later, not a day goes by now that I don't think about this time of my life. I met people from just about every corner of the globe, South Africa, Finland, New Zealand to name just a few I started walking on May 22 and finished on June 23. The Camino isn't sectioned off so I'm not sure what you mean by that, but if you have 1.5 to 2 weeks to walk you could start in Sarria or Leon. Yes, you can bus parts of the Camino, people do that, it can be argued this takes away from the experience, but what it comes down to is "it's your Camino, do it as you please". If you do bus it you can start farther east, weather can also play into this, being your looking at fall this may come into play, the weather in Galicia will be cooler, but since you aren't starting in St Jean the Pyrenees weather won't be a problem. I recommend getting a guide book from a bookstore, it will give you a better estimate on daily distance that you can use to better plan, it will also once you arrive, by that it will be used to know what alburgues (places you'll stay) are available along the Camino. It will also let you know what amenities each village has or doesn't have. You can get you Pilgrims Passport once you arrive or from the American Pilgrims on the Camino, that is an organization based in Northern California dedicated to the Camino, they will issue it to you for a small donation. One thing the movie did not touch on is injuries that are very common while walking, especially blisters and overall muscle soreness, personally I suffered for over a week with shinsplints.

cont. They did a great job of capturing the spirit of the Camino so the injury issue isn't anything I'll nitpick on but just be aware it is very common. They had just wrapped up filming when I was there so it was a common thought that the movie would bring many people to the Camino. A similar thing happened when a German comedian Hape Kerkeling wrote a book "I'm Off Then" inspired many Germans to walk, I recommend the book BTW, and Germans were the second most common nationality, behind Spaniards. But over 100,000 walk it each year so it is popular, just not as known in the United States, I meet maybe 1 out 10 that are or were familiar with it when I've talked about it. I recommend wearing liner socks under ones hiking socks to keep from getting blisters. I have a lot of information available I can send you via email, packing list for example, other websites to help plan. So feel free to contact me with any questions. I also have a blog I kept http://www.bhcamino2010.blogspot.com if your interested.

We have never walked the part of the Camino is Spain but when we are in France we'll consult our Camino maps or online sources to see if there is a section near that our home base that we'd like to walk for a day. This way we've done three days of walking going from village church to village church on a quiet spiritual walk looking for our scallop shell markers along the way. Hope to do more of the walk during future trips to Europe.

Thanks for the feedback. we are just getting started reading and planning for June, I believe. I would tie it up with a business trip and then meet my wife for El Camino. It will be the first long distance backpacking for both of us so we must gear up. Does one do any wash? I may need to ship back to US some other gear or can it be shipped ahead to departure city when leaving to US? Would a small / light sleeping bag make sense, or bed sheets? What is suggested max weight to carry?
Any must have or would be nice to have items? Tks for your insights.

The alburgues have washing sinks, that is sinks with a washboard front to them, when I started my Camino I washed both my shirt and pants everyday (along with my socks) but after about a week I quit washing the pants everyday, I brought 4 underarmor type shirts, I had 2 for walking and kept the other 2 for after hours, 3 were short sleeve and one long sleeve. A light weight sleeping bag will work fine, I carried a fleece sleeping bag liner I got at REI, in the mountains I needed additional warmth, most of the alburgues have blankets if one desires one. The key thing to remember is weight, try to keep it to a minimum, my pack with all my gear weighed about 16 pounds, which about the average. In many of the alburgues especially the beginning you'll find quite a bit of things people discarded because of the weight. I also took 2 pairs of pants, one pair were the type where the lower legs zippered off, no need to carry shorts, the other were a lightweight material, and quick drying, BTW stay away from anything cotton, it retains water/sweat which takes longer to dry and again weight. For washing clothes I carried campsuds I got at sporting goods store. 4 pairs of hiking socks and 2 pairs of liner socks, I can't emphysize enough the importance of liner socks, blisters being the biggest ailment of Pilgrims. Also try to rotate only 2 pairs of the socks, keep the others in a watertight/plastic container for emergencies. One of the many wonders of the Camino is finding out how little one needs to get by, its taking Rick Steves packing philosophy to a new level! I have a detailed packing list I can forward to anyone who will PM me on this site with an email address.

Barry, just curious how you trained before you started the Camino. My husband and I are trying to decide whether or not to make the trip. We walked 10 miles on Sunday. The reality of doing that and more plus walking with a pack day-after-day is beginning to sink in! How far in advance did you train and what distances did you walk to get ready? Thanks!

All of these questions are covered in great detail on the forum that Linda provided the link for. There is also an excellent guidebook written by John Brierley that provides loads of information that you can use for planning.

Sharon, great question, walking the Camino is not something one just gets up and does. For me I was fortunate that I had retired from the fire dept at Christmas 2 years ago. I had a pretty good fitness level going in but walking with a pack is a different game altogether. I would and still do at least 40 to 60 minutes of cardio at the gym everyday, I would walk just about everywhere if I didn't need my car, plus I would take hikes wearing my pack, initially starting with the amount of weight I anticipated carrying then upping it so when I got on the Camino it would first feel second nature wearing it and secondly the weight wouldn't be an issue. I also recommend getting the shoes/hiking boots you would plan to wear and breaking them in, by the time I got to the Camino I had over 200 miles on them, I had also did a hike on Vancouver Island called the West Coast Trail, which I highly recommend, it is 50 miles but is very rugged. The toughest part of the Camino is also the beginning, the Pyrenees, the first day out of St Jean is completely uphill, I don't have the evelation gain readily available but I do have it at home so I'll update that later. Your off to a great start, just get out and walk, you can start out without the pack but I recommend start wearing it at some point. It can become boring just training but focus on the goal! One of the magical things about the Camino is that at the end of the day our feet would be killing us, but every morning they felt good as new. You will need to bring some type of shoes for after walking, Tevas, slippers etc, when you arrive at the alburgue your not allowed to wear your hiking boots in the common areas, they have a room with shelves for storing all the boots, I have a great picture of that, a room with over a hundred pair a beat up boots lining the wall, the reason is they don't want all the muck and stuff one can pick up on the their boots messing up the alburgue.

Great info Barry - thanks! Just ordered the Brierly's "Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino" yesterday. We're still not decided but will keep training until we do--it's turning out to be fun to explore our city on foot! Best wishes Ed! Thanks for posting the topic!

In reference to my earlier post the elevation gain on the first day out of St Jean is about 1200 meters in 20 kilometers. Good to see you're ordered your guide book, there are a lot of great books out there, Brierleys probably being the most popular. It will provide quite a bit of information on recommended daily distances, it will provide you with a better picture on what to expect once you arrive.